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Since my dx, I've felt the need to become active in preventing HIV.My opportunity is here, and I'd like your help!

I'm a college student currently enrolled in a Film/Television Production class. A requirement of the class is to create a 60 second commercial of our choice.I've decided my commercial will be about HIV/AIDS.

I need your help in deciding what message to send to my audience--college students, 18-23.

I'm sure I'll post more polls over the next couple weeks, until then your ideas and suggestions are appreciated.

I think using phrases like "hiv is not just a gay disease" actually reinforces the stereotype. The take away message would once again tie the words hiv and gay together in the viewer's mind.

Concentrate on the main risk factor - unprotected intercourse - and don't even mention any so-called "risk groups". The only true "risk group" is the group of people who have unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse and yes, that's a mighty big risk group. EVERYONE is at risk and it depends on the use or non-use of condoms, not social status or identity.

Put it in the language of your target audience. It sounds as though your audience is your peers, so you would know best in this regard.

Keep the actual text or voice-over short and to the point. There are three main points you need to get into people's minds - three is an optimum number of ideas a person can retain easily. Keep it simple: Hiv; use condoms, get tested.

Remember your target audience and maybe think music videos - flashy, quick moving, attention grabbing. You can make quite an impact with a simple message and the simpler, the better. Run it though your head like a mantra - hiv, condoms, testing... and see what comes up for you.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

I honestly think that college people would get a harsh attitude about the facts....and I'm starting to think that we need to step on a lot of toes to get people to wake up...

Think of the following as a sort of filmed ala the Final Desitnation movies technique:

Some guy hitting on a girl/guy to fuck without a condom and before he/she answers we see a sort of montage of fast shots of her/him seeing himself/ herself at the doctor's office, being told he/she is poz, crying to his/her friends, drinking or drugging to deal, maybe dropping out of school saying it's all over...yadda yadda yadda.

Then the screen flashes back to present day where she/he realizes she saw a possible dark future for himself/herself and tells the guy to use a condom or forget it followed by the tag line: "Don't play the helpless victim - demand a condom," or "Stop the drama - use a condom"

Some guy hitting on a girl/guy to fuck without a condom and before he/she answers we see a sort of montage of fast shots of her/him seeing himself/ herself at the doctor's office, being told he/she is poz, crying to his/her friends, drinking or drugging to deal, maybe dropping out of school saying it's all over...yadda yadda yadda.

Then the screen flashes back to present day where she/he realizes she saw a possible dark future for himself/herself and tells the guy to use a condom or forget it followed by the tag line: "Don't play the helpless victim - demand a condom," or "Stop the drama - use a condom"

Safe Sex Everytime!You can't just trust someone telling you they don't have an STD (not just HIV, all STD's). They might not even know that they have one. The guy I started seeing and sleeping with just a few weeks ago thought he was negative based on an HIV test that was 8 months old.Safe Sex Everytime!

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7 weeks post exposure, tested HIV Negative.

Be Kind To Everyone You Meet, For You Do Not Know What Battles They Have Fought That Day.

Great Idea Iggy. Your post is exactly what I was thinking, almost word for word... have you been speaking with my telephone physic?

I really do agree that fact/stats are boring, and I do tend to be more on the controversial side- so yeah, I'll prob step on toes even break a few... but broken bones pale in comparison.

Controversial as i may be, I'd never use the phrase "hiv its not just a gay disease". Its just something that I have experienced myself.. and I think that maybe sometimes hetro worry less about HIV transmission.. I feel it has been coined a gay thing. Its a sex thing, not based on sexual orientation.

Ann, thanks for making my day I guess they are my "peers".. just ~15 years younger.. (I'm the old man on campus)

Thought I had last night..

Pan across a lecture hall.. kids slouched, sleeping, bored.. Instructor talking.. (inaudible) Instructor slams a text book on the desk/table/floor all the students are startled/wake upthen cut to instructor saying something like.. People, its time we wake up and pay attention to HIV/AID.. voice over with something insightful

Using Britney as an example of stupid decisions could certainly backfire as she does have supporters and could dilute the strength of your message if it sidetracks a viewer.

Equally important, it "dates" your video and you want to have a longer shelf-life than anchoring to a current event that will soon fade. Ideally, you'll make something that's good enough that you'll actually get some air time for it.

If you want a real challenge, I can put you in touch with a young friend who attends a Catholic high school in Baltimore and is mounting a big outreach at his school.... without mention of condoms or any sex other than man-woman within the confines of marriage.

I'm gonna go find my black sequin bikini and maybe I'll run into my sense of sarcasm on the way. If it was thunter writing, I would have gotten it. But, now that I know your bent, I'll be on the lookout.

A keg party. Everyone is, well, partying. A room for the drinkers, a room for the orgy, a room for the drug users (that way they could be also identified as potential HIV victims). And one or two from the orgy room could be wearing an HIV tee-shirt and same for the druggies to identify them. I dunno, might be kinda hokey, but I'm a dork like that.

A keg party. Everyone is, well, partying. A room for the drinkers, a room for the orgy, a room for the drug users (that way they could be also identified as potential HIV victims). And one or two from the orgy room could be wearing an HIV tee-shirt and same for the druggies to identify them. I dunno, might be kinda hokey, but I'm a dork like that.

Boys, wrap it up, everytime. Sure, alot easier said than done and no ones perfect so I can't expect you to never fuck up. What you need to realize is that living with HIV as a hetero male is tough, really tough. There are no support services for you. Misandric gender feminists have painted a grim picture of who you are and what you're all about. Unfortunately for you, many of them are in charge of female only services and they do not like you. Some of them flat out hate you, even moreso if you're white. Sure you've never met them nor done them any harm but that doesn't matter, you're a heterosexual male and that's all it takes. So do your best and try to use condoms everytime. Even if you're in what is supposed to be a commited relationship use a condom. I know it doesn't feel as good but is it really worth it to have one wild romp only to end up spending the rest of your life as a social pariah? People make mistakes. People cheat and people lie. Often times these are good people who just found themselves in a comprimising situation and made the wrong decision. Guys do it, girls do it too. No one is perfect and no one is asking you to be but what you really need to do is protect yourself as well as your partner and until something better comes along, condoms are the best way to go.

Misandric gender feminists have painted a grim picture of who you are and what you're all about. Unfortunately for you, many of them are in charge of female only services and they do not like you. Some of them flat out hate you, even more so if you're white. Sure you've never met them nor done them any harm but that doesn't matter, you're a heterosexual male and that's all it takes.

UpAllNight -- you've just come very close to being BannedforAllTime. I won't tolerate hate-filled misogynistic speech on our forums.

You've been warned. The only response to this warning you should even consider posting publicly is an apology. If you have a problem with my warning, feel free to send me a private message about it. If you attempt to defend your words above, in any way, you'll be given an immediate 7 day time-out.

Take a deck of cards/ take out the 10= your safe(you used protection)jack=your pregnantqueen=you get herpesking= another type of stdace= you get hiv

shuffle the five cards and have the kids draw a card and let them see how much of a gamble it is for them have unprotected sex.

you'll find this is a fun way for kids/young adults to learn about the risk of unprotected sex. that's what my 9th grader's health teacher did.(my daughter said that the results were amazing of how many people who became poz(so to speak during the game) and that the kids really learned something in a fun way.because the fact is no matter how much you preach about waiting til marriage, that doesn't seem to be working, teach them about safe sex because eventually they are gong to have it. i hope this helps.

I would hereby like to apologize to all persons offended by this statement

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Misandric gender feminists have painted a grim picture of who you are and what you're all about. Unfortunately for you, many of them are in charge of female only services and they do not like you. Some of them flat out hate you, even moreso if you're white. Sure you've never met them nor done them any harm but that doesn't matter, you're a heterosexual male and that's all it takes.

I did not mean to offend anyone with this and it has come to my attention that it most assuredly did. I don't want to paint all people with the same brush as I was in a foul mood at the time I posted this and really only have two experiences that lead me to feel this was an apt comment to make. I know now that it wasn't at all appropriate and promise to do a better job of censoring my thoughts in the future. Once again, I am sorry for any hurt feelings I may have caused.

Not certain about the message, but avoid anything that carries "just say 'NO'" overtones. Humans, particulary youth and young adults, want to rebel against being told to not do anything, so focusing on what not to do can be conter-productive. Focus on the reinforcing the best behaviors to reduce risk.

Hello I am a OutReach Worker/Peer Educator from Paterson New Jersey where My God-Daughter and myself and 2 others just started a group called AWPIE (((meaning))) A Working Process in Entertainment where we have 50 Youth that are involed with us also in order to get involed the first step is to Get Tested and the second step is to open up if you are going threw anything but if you dont want to Share in Group you DON'T HAVE TOO But I want you to know that 17 Youth have been Tested and we have reach out to the Parnets and it is really working all we have to do is just Stop Look and Listen and Let Go and Let God and remember Each One, Reach One, Teach One and my motto...Life is Worth Living and as we say in AWPIE... let me let you no,,,No Let Us Let You Know ...That I'm Aware and you should no ....AWPIE

i think we all need to not only look at college students but kids 12,13,14 are having unprotected sex I'm a AIDS/HIV housing case worker in new Orleans we need to get into middle schools to get the safe sex word out colledge students REALLY SHOULD ALLREADY KNOW ABOUT SAFE SEX

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AIDS/HIV housing case manager for non profit in new Orleans 40 years old poz for4 years healthy guy who cant find a normal gay man to love me.......

I wish a catchy slogan would do it. I wish a cool poster would do it. I wish an event would do it. What will do it is if we talk with not too youth. They will respect our wisdom if we respect their youth. I have a son, adopted, who is also gay. I recently addressed this issue in my blog you can find it here at this address, please read and please don't rely on slogans alone to reach our youth.

It has been my recent experience in my neck of the woods, (Southeast corner of Arizona, very Mormon, and indigenous Mexican) that a presentation not even mentioning condoms has been the most successful.

One has to adapt to a message that "Empowers" each individual to guard themselves against being tempted to engage in any kind of unprotected sex. This has been acomplished by emphasizing their intrinsic self worth, and the fact that they have the power to say no. I have always been more successful in teaching the power of selfworth, over the negative warnigngs against the dangers of unprotected sex. Most of all, kids are impervious to anything bad happening to them, at least in their own eyes, so they tend to shun negative messages of any kind. I always help girls and women to connect with their feminine power and to protect themselves at all costs. I also direct messages to gay boys, by accepting the fact that some who are listening to you are gay, and the message seems to sink in for some reason. I have had high school kids come up to me at health fairs and thank me for reminding them of their worth, sometimes two years later. Self respect messages really do impact kids.

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The Bible contains 6 admonishments to homosexuals,and 362 to heterosexuals.This doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals, It's just that they need more supervision.Lynn Lavne

This topic is superb, and I will be keeping an eye on it as more ideas pop up:p

Me being in the same position and whatnot, well, somewhat. In addition to youth prevention, I'm really looking for a way to get more information out to youth, especially new poz youth, in my community. don't get me wrong, there are some awesome support groups and whatnot in the area, but there needs to be more out there in the way of informing people in our age group that there are people and places to go to, and that there are people out there that they can relate to, as the support groups are rather hard to find, if you don't already know that they're there (or do some expansive research). NOTE: This is just speciic to my area, not in general, as I don't know about other communities:p

So, in addition to prevention awareness, what kinds of way do you guys recommend / see out and about/ that can help with getting hiv+ youth the message about their options for services and support?

A prime example, the city of Chicago has just recently opened an enourmous gay and lesbian center, that has a very expansive HIV/AIDS sector, especially in the way of youth advocacy. It not only gives gay/lesbian youth a sort of safe haven of sorts, it also allows positive youth to have access to services and support that they would probably never know about. Ohhh how I miss thee, Chicago :/

I'm just getting started in the way of [pro]activism with HIVV/AIDS, so I'm an open book